Imaging of human tissue and organs is an important tool used to assist in the diagnosis and treatment of many medical conditions. Imaging modalities such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) produce high quality three dimensional (3D) images. These imaging modalities are typically used to image a patient pre-operatively.
Indeed, in breast cancer, prostrate cancer and brain tumor procedures, preoperative imaging depicts tumor extent better because of the ability to perform dynamic imaging, parametric modeling, and diffusion or other functional MR or CT imaging methods with acquisition times that would be impractical for interactive intra-procedural imaging. Typically during a procedure two dimensional (2D) fluoroscopic images are taken. These images, while useful for providing real-time monitoring of interventional devices, do not have the image quality and tissue contrast of the closed magnet MR and CT.
Interventional fluoroscopic imaging or intra-procedural fluoroscopic imaging is used to guide instruments for diagnostic or minimally invasive therapeutic interventions. Interventional and surgical procedures require the physician to have access to updates about the patient anatomy or changing position of movable organs. Real-time imaging during intervention (without registration) establishes the necessary relationship between the patient and the images. The lower image quality of the fluoroscopic images prohibits their usage for a variety of the procedures. There is a need for a registration procedure which augments fluoroscopic inter-operative images (volume is considered to be a three-dimensional image and is referred to as an image hereafter) with high quality pre-operative volume/images from a conventional high field magnet MRI system or CT system.